Starting on July 7th, we began drafting (at least) one fantasy football team per day using the 2018 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator and we will continue to do so up until the start of the 2018 NFL season.
Each day, we will switch things up -- e.g., PPR vs. standard scoring, league size, draft slot, 2-QB leagues, auction leagues, etc.
In addition, we will centralize links to our daily fantasy football mock drafts for an easy way to keep track of our mock drafts.
Details of today's mock draft:
- Scoring: 2-QB league with PPR scoring
- # of Teams: 12
- Draft Slot: 11
- Starters: 2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex (RB/WR/TE), K, DST
- Bench Size: 6
With that said, here are the results of today's mock draft:
1.11 - Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Over the past two years, a rookie running back -- Ezekiel Elliott (2016) and Kareem Hunt (2017) -- has led the NFL in rushing. Could Barkley extend the rookie streak to three straight? With a rare combination of size, athleticism and collegiate production, the No. 2 overall pick (in the real draft) will become an immediate three-down back for the G-Men.
2.02 - Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Yet to average 4.0 yards per carry in any season, Gordon rushed for 1,105 yards last year and added 58 catches for 476 yards, all of which were career highs. And after not scoring on 217 touches as a rookie, MG3 has scored exactly 12 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons.
3.11 - Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Thielen has only 10 touchdowns in his four NFL seasons, but the former UDFA built upon his breakout 2016 season to lead the team in targets (142), receptions (91) and receiving yards (1,276). Only Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins had more yards than Thielen last season.
4.02 - Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Down to 218 pounds, Mixon is poised for bigger things in his sophomore campaign. The versatile back averaged just 3.5 yards per carry last season behind one of the league's worst offensive lines, but offseason upgrades at left tackle and center should help.
5.11 - Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears: Going into his age-25 season, Robinson already has an 80/1,400/14 season (2015) under his belt. Missing virtually all of 2017 with a torn ACL (Week 1), rehabbing the injury could inhibit his ability to build (a strong) rapport with Trubisky at least early in his Bears' tenure. That said, getting some preseason work is certainly a positive step as he recovers from his torn ACL.
6.02 - Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: Playing well in one start as a rookie, Mahomes enters the 2018 season as the starter with Alex Smith traded to Washington this offseason. Adding Sammy Watkins to the receiving corps, the Chiefs have their most talented group of weapons in recent memory and Smith finished as a top-three fantasy quarterback last season.
7.11 - Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: While Sanders missed four games, his 2017 numbers (47/555/2) were nearly half of his 2016 production (79/1,032/5). While he may not be Peyton Manning, signing Case Keenum gives Denver its best quarterback situation in several seasons and Sanders had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons before last season.
8.02 - Alex Smith, QB, Washington Redskins: Setting career highs, Smith threw for 4,042 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding 355 rushing yards last season. As noted above, Smith finished as fantasy's QB3 and he now takes over for Kirk Cousins, who has finished as a top-eight fantasy quarterback in each of the past three seasons. Since Gruden coached Andy Dalton (QB5) in 2013 as well, he's now coached a QB to a top-eight fantasy finish in four of the past five seasons.
9.11 - Jordy Nelson, WR, Oakland Raiders: Released by the Packers, Nelson had just 53 catches for 482 yards and six touchdowns in 2017. That said, he had 98/1,519/13 (2014) and 97/1,257/14 (2016) in his previous two full seasons. There's virtually no chance that he returns to the 90-catch, 1,200-yard mark he had in 2016, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he finished with eight-plus touchdowns, something that Michael Crabtree had done in each of the past three seasons in Oakland. And apparently he's been moving "like he's 28."
10.02 - Jamaal Williams, RB, Green Bay Packers: Due to other injuries at running back, only three running backs had more carries than Williams (122) from Week 10 on -- Gordon (137), Frank Gore (134) and LeSean McCoy (130). That said, Williams averaged only 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie and the workload allocation for the team's top-three backs could be fluid throughout the season. The two-game suspension of Aaron Jones to start the season helps Williams' case.
11.11 - Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears: With 23 catches for 248 yards and five touchdowns for the Eagles last season, Burton has plenty of breakout potential in Matt Nagy's offense in Kansas City. In response to a 600-yard over/under mailbag question, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune calls the over a "lock" and writes that Burton "certainly could challenge" the franchise TE single-season yardage record (Martellus Bennett, 916 in 2014).
12.02 - Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins: If he ever puts together a 16-game season, Reed has the potential to lead all tight ends in fantasy points. Unfortunately, he has missed at least four games in four of his five NFL seasons including 10 missed games last season. In his healthiest season (14 games in 2015), Reed had a monster 87/952/11 line.
13.11 - Sam Bradford, QB, Arizona Cardinals: Bradford may not hold on to the starting job all season with rookie Josh Rosen behind him, but he gives this team a bye-week replacement at QB.
14.02 - Minnesota Vikings D/ST
15.11 - Carolina Panthers D/ST: This was an error -- inadvertently clicked the wrong button. If this were more than a mock, I'd drop the Panthers D for a kicker once free agency opens.
16.02 - Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers: Finishing as a top-50 fantasy back in 2017, Ekeler has a reasonable chance to do so again as MG3's backup. As a rookie, Ekeler had 539 YFS, 27 catches, 5.5 YPC and five TDs.
- View full mock draft results here
Complete your own mock drafts for free on our Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator page.
Check out more of our content:
